Rio Ave vs Moreirense Predictions

Rio Ave fell to defeat in their first game of the new Primeira Liga season, but after that they seemed to rally around and looked set to build on last season’s 5th place finish. They won 5 and drew 2 of their next 7 matches, but since then everything has started to fall apart for them.

Their 2-1 loss at Porto before Christmas wasn’t exactly unexpected, but it did extend their winless run to 6 games in the league and 4 of these have been defeats. They have conceded a disappointing 15 goals during this run, shunting them down to 10th in the table but still only 6 points off Guimaraes in 5th.

Last season this hosting of Moreirense would have looked a very winnable fixture, and they did in fact win it 2-1 back at the start of December 2017. Now, however, on the back of a 6 match winless run and facing a vastly improved Moreirense side, things aren’t so certain.

The visitors went into Christmas happy after claiming a 2-1 win over Boavista, pushing them up to 7th in the table and well clear of the relegation battle they were embroiled in last term.

Moreirense have actually had a very impressive season so far, and it does seem to be getting better as time goes on. They have won 5 of their last 7 Primeira Liga matches and even managed to defeat Benfica away from home, and a win on Wednesday could move them up to 5th in the table.

One thing they will be looking to take advantage of is Rio Ave’s shocking recent defensive record. They have conceded 23 goals so far this season, and most of them have come in the last couple of months. Their back line is definitely shakier than it was earlier in the season, although in fairness they have struggled to keep clean sheets all season.

Rio Ave have actually only managed 1 clean sheet in 14 league games, scoring in 13 of these matches too. What their recent defensive lapses have done, however, is increase the entertainment for the neutrals. Each of their last 6 outings have seen at least 3 goals scored, and 6 of their 7 home games have been high scoring affairs.

Considering 5 of Moreirense’s 7 away games have also seen at least 3 goals, we think backing Over 2.5 Goals on Wednesday is the way to go along with a 2-2 correct score predictions.